


I belong with you, you belong with me

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: ALL THE GOOD STUFF, Angst, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Incest, M/M, Nori feels guilty but not enough to stop, Ori knows what he wants and he'll get it if he can, Smut, Trans Character, ftm!Nori, they are fluffy babies and come on boys you're not even trying to hide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2017-12-24 22:11:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 7,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nori and Ori, in love<br/>or in lust<br/>or in denial</p><p>Nori and Ori, together</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. taboo

**Author's Note:**

> I ship this to the moon and back and I am ashamed of it so I've decided to put all my Ori/Nori shorts together  
> don't question the logic  
> My Nori is FtM, always uwu (except in modern AUs where I usually have a different interpretation of him, but anyway I'll say in it the notes if such a thing happen uwu)

It was bad, and Ori knew it, but he didn’t care. It might have  _been_  wrong, but it still  _felt_  right.

The most difficult had been to convince Nori that he really wanted this. Nori, who claimed high and loud that he had no morals, that there was nothing he wouldn’t do under the right circumstances (or more likely, under the wrong ones), Nori had been terrified the first time Ori had tried to kiss him. Not because he didn’t want to (Ori wasn’t  _stupid_ , and he  _knew_  the signs, or he would never have tried anything) but just because he was afraid he’d corrupt his darling little brother.

It was almost sweet, Ori thought.

Annoying as hell because it meant it had taken him weeks to convince Nori that he really wanted this,  _seriously, stop protesting and let me kiss you and do naughty stuff to you_.

But sweet.

They had to hide, of course, because M’al, Mama and Dori would get so mad if they knew, and they’d yell at Nori and maybe make him leave again, which Ori really didn’t want… especially since he’d have left too.

He loved his mother and he loved Dori, but he  _loved_  Nori, and just the idea of being away from him was painful. 

He was determined to never let that happen. He’d follow his One to Mordor and back again if that was the only way to stay with Nori, and he knew his brother felt the same. He didn’t say it, but it was clear in the way he clung to Ori when they slept together, in the way Nori’s face lit up when he noticed his brother was near, in the way he kept finding excuses to touch him in a way that would have been friendly if not for the way the things they did when they were alone.

And if anyone had anything to say against it, well, too bad for them. Ori was in love, and he was happy, and nothing else mattered.


	2. magpie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Nori is pretty much a magpie, and leaves little gems along Ori's pillow when he sleeps.

This time, Ori found a pearl. Last time, it had been a small ruby and the time before, a piece of amber. He looked at it, and tried to smile as he always did. Nori was still alive then. It had been a while since Ori had had news. Nearly a year since he’d last been in town…

At least, Ori supposed it was what his shiny little gifts meant. But if they weren’t from Nori, then who could have left them? Who else could have come up in his bedroom while he slept to leave presents, without ever waking him? Who else would have had a reason to?

No that Nori had  _any_  reason to do that, not  _really_. Ori had tried to tell him. Yes, he had drunk a little  _that night_ , but just enough for courage, just enough to finally get what he  _wanted_ , what he had  _always_  wanted, and Nori hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t taken advantage of him, Ori was an  _adult_  and capable of making decisions…

But Nori had chosen that day to start having morals.

He had left, horrified by what he’d done, and Ori hadn’t seen him in years. Dori and their mother thought that he was dead.

Ori knew better.

The presents to which he sometimes woke up told him his brother was alive, and that he still hadn’t forgiven himself.


	3. good nurse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Ori patches Nori up after a job. Make-outs ensue

"Ow! Careful with that!" Nori grunted, shifting on his chair.

"I  _am_  careful,” Ori calmly retorted. “I’m not the one who ran headfirst into a wall, and then ‘fell in the stairs’, am I? So be quiet, and let me clean that. I’ll make it up to you.”

Nori snorted… or tried to. Everything sort of hurt. It wasn’t the worst shape he’d been in, not by far, but he’d sort of messed up. Good thing Ori was there to take care of him… and good thing their mother and brother where gone on a visit. Ori was a far nicer nurse when they were alone.

"You enjoy seeing me in pain," Nori sighed tragically. "You’re turning into Dori."

Ori rolled his eyes, and tried to hide a smile.

"You’re being ridiculous, No. If I enjoyed seeing you in pain, I wouldn’t help you at all."

"Lies. You get off on it."

 Ori chuckled, and Nori refrained a grin. His little brother usually wanted to play it safe when he was hurt, and it was a delicate business to convince him to have a little fun at such moments. But they had the house to themselves, for the first time in  _ages_ , and Nori wasn’t going to lose a chance.

"I get off on many things," Ori admitted with a shy little smile, washing the last of Nori’s scratches. "Your pain isn’t usually on that least."

"Usually? So you admit that it  _sometimes_  is?”

"You’re an idiot," Ori laughed, kissing the tip of his nose. "And I’m done. Well, I said I’d make it up to you, didn’t I? So what do you want?"

Grabbing his brother’s wrist, Nori pulled the younger dwarf on his lap with a large grin, slipping his arms around Ori’s waist.

"Guess."

Ori laughed again, before carefully kissing him, trying to be mindful of Nori’s bruises. It always started like that, with the younger dwarf so tender and slow, as if Nori were a bird that might fly away if he went too fast. It started slow but it never stayed that way, and Nori wasn’t surprised when the kiss turned more heated, Ori burrowing his fingers in his brother’s hair in an attempt to get closer.

Not that Nori was much better than that. It didn’t take long for his hands to find their way under Ori’s many layers of clothes, feeling warm, soft skin and dragging soft little hungry noises from his brother.

They both knew already that they wouldn’t get much further than that, not with Nori hurt, not with the threat of Dori and Ari’s return. No matter how much they both wanted more, they couldn’t risk it.

Nori shifted to start planting kisses against his brother’s throat, resisting the impulse to bite and mark his lover, knowing how much trouble that would get them. There was so much they couldn’t get, and he hated it sometimes… but that feeling never lasted.

Not when Ori was writhing like that against him, and teasing him, whispering such naughty things in his ear.

There was a lot they couldn’t have, but what they did get made Nori a very happy dwarf indeed.


	4. not in front of the kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: they are both having tons of fun at placing hints abouts their relationship in conversation to annoy Dori who is still trying to pretend he doesn't know about it

"Wow, Nori, you really were amazing last night," Ori sighed dreamily.

Dori tensed, and glared at his cup of tea. So it was going to be one of  _those_ mornings. And in front of the company to! In front of that… that giant human Beorn! In front of  _Gandalf_!

The smile on Ori’s face, so sweet and innocent (the boy  _practiced_ ) confirmed the older dwarf’s fears.

"No showed me the most incredible things last night!" his little brother explained, still smiling. "I didn’t know anyone could be that flexible."

Dori threw him the look of a dwarf betrayed but who would not indulge his torturer, but Kili, being Kili, took the bait.

"What did he show you?"

"It’s a thing he does with his hands… Oh, it’s  _incredible_. He’s teaching me, but it’s not easy at all… good thing he’s so patient and willing to help me train!”

 

Nori choked a little on a cake, trying not to laugh.

Dori hoped he’d just choke completely. It was all he deserved for having turned Ori into  _that_. (Dori tried to maintain at least the illusion that Ori had been innocent, once, even if facts tended to prove that really, he’d probably never been)

"D’you think he could teach me too?" Kili asked, sounding far too excited. "What is it anyway?"

"Oh, it’s… Nori, why don’t you show him?"

Nori, who had (unfortunately)regained control of his breathing, came near the boy to show them a little trick to make a biscuit disappear.

"That is awesome!" Kili exclaimed. "Ori, you’re really lucky to have a brother like that!"

"Oh, yes. Having Nori in my life bring me great joy and pleasure!"

Dori rolled his eyes. And Nori with an arm around Ori’s shoulder too! They weren’t even trying to be subtle.

"Can you make bigger things disappear too?" Kili asked.

"Of course I can," Nori answered, smirking at Dori. "I can make very big things disappear, if I put some effort into it. Once I made disappear Ori’s…"

"Enough!" Dori exclaimed, glaring at his brothers ( _both_  of them, because Ori was biting on his scarf not to laugh, very much amused by the whole thing of course) “I will not let you… corrupt one of the princes, Nori! It’s bad enough when you do it with Ori…”

"Oh, you make it sound so naughty!" Ori sighed. "You can’t blame me for loving my own brother and enjoying the time I spend with him, can you?"

Dori scowled at him.

That was it.

He was disowning them both this time.


	5. foreign language

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Nori has traveled a lot around, so he must have learned at least some basic phrases in every language. When he returns home, Ori loves to listen to his tales and learn and is utterly turned on by Nori talking foreign dialects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorta smutty?  
> Also, I used /.../ for when Nori speaks another language because I'm a lazy shit

Dori and Ari couldn’t disapprove of that, of course. Of all the things Nori could do in front of the family’s baby, telling stories was by far the most innocent one. And they both thought it adorable, the way Ori would huddle against his brother. He already did that as a child, but even now that he was an adult, it seemed he couldn’t resist that chance to be close to Nori.

It was innocent, and it made Ori so happy, and it was safe, so when Nori started telling stories of his travels, Ari and Dori relaxed at last, and knew they could go about their usual business and leave these two alone in the house, without any fear that Nori would corrupt his young brother.

In Nori’s opinion, it proved they were idiot.

 

First, because they had to be blind to think that Ori was in awe of him when he told stories. Ori was bloody  _turned on_ , especially whenever Nori would let a few foreign words slip here and there… and Nori made sure to do that very often, for that exact reason.

And secondly, they had to be idiot to think he would corrupt Ori, when it was the lad who had first seduced Nori. Nori who had put great efforts in trying to resist, not that anyone cared.

Well, he had put great efforts in trying to make it look like he was resisting at least. He’d been fucked ever since the first moment Ori had decided he was in love with him. No one resisted Ori for long, not when he’d decided he really wanted something… or someone.

So their family was a bunch of idiots, and Nori wasn’t about to complain. Their idiocy meant he could be sitting in front of the fire, with Ori comfortably settled between his legs, the lad’s back against his chest while he told him stories. Nori’s hands sometimes wandered here and there, little touches that would look casual if the others saw them.

"We’re going to the market," Ari announced behind them. "Be good, the two of you."

"We’re always good, Mama!" Ori protested. "No just tells me stories, and he’s teaching me languages! It’s  _amazing_.”

Nori choked back a snigger, and as soon as the door had closed behind Ari and Dori, he bit gently on his brother’s ear.

"/So I’m amazing, eh? You haven’t seen anything yet, pet./"

Ori shuddered, and pressed himself against his brother. 

"/You have no idea how pretty you are, do you? Pretty and  _mine_ , all mine. Are you going to fuck me today?/”

“ _Nori_ …”

The older dwarf silenced him by a kiss, his hands quickly getting rid of the ties of Ori’s trousers. He wasn’t surprised to find him already hard. They’d been there for hours, Nori telling any tale he could think of, switch to other languages every occasion he had…

"/You’re such a naughty boy,/" Nori purred, his fingers starting to massage his brother’s length through his underwear. "/It’s just words and look what it does to you… Damn but you’re  _pretty_  like that/”

He tightened his fingers, and Ori whined, clutching at his brother’s arms like a drowning dwarf.

"/I’m going to make you come, pet, and then I’ll get you hard again, and you’ll come a second time with my fingers in you before the others come back from the market. How does that sound?/"

"Nori, please!"

The older dwarf chuckled, and kissed his brother.

Oh, Ari and Dori were idiots to think that there was anything innocent about the way Ori loved his stories. But since it all played in Nori’s favour, he didn’t really mind.


	6. mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Ori is dying in Moria and his life flashes in front of his eyes. Also, his deepest regret. Not telling Nori something really important.

It had been a mistake, Ori realized, trying to tune out the orc's war drums on the other side of the door.

Everything had been a mistake.

Falling in love with his brother had been his first bad idea. Of course it wasn't exactly as if he'd had a choice there. It had happened without him noticing it, until one morning, he'd looked at Nori during one of his arguments with Dori, and he'd wanted to step in and protect Nori, to kiss him and promise him that he wasn't a monster and a disgrace, to tell him there was still someone in there who would always love him...

Not long after, Nori had left home for good. Ori had been relieved at first, because it meant his brother would never know his shameful secret, and that with his absence, the feelings would go away... but they hadn't, and he just missed Nori so _much_.

And that was what explained his second great bad decision. When he'd heard that Nori was part of Thorin's quest... he'd known he had to go, too. He didn't care about the dangers, he had just wanted, needed to be near Nori... for all the good it did, in the end. he avoided Nori, terrified he might let something slip of his feelings, and Nori avoided him too, probably annoyed that Ori had come, bringing Dori with him.

Not that Nori was unkind to him. There were moments when they both forgot they weren't supposed to talk to each other. Short instants where Nori would smile at him and show him one trick or another... even letting Ori hug him sometimes... until that strange light got in his eyes, and he just walked away, without explanation.

 

They barely ever talked in Erebor. Nori was busy, and so was Ori. In the end, being so close to his brother, to the dwarf he loved, and not be able to even have his friendship, hurt more than when Nori had just been gone. So when Balin had told him that he was going to Moria… Ori had taken his chance, hoping that the distance would make things easier.

The night before he left, Nori had come to visit him. He’d been drunk, the way dwarves rarely got, the way Nori never got. He’d taken Ori in his arms, holding him tight, too tight to breathe, and had clumsily kissed him on the cheek, right at the corner of his lips.

“I love you so much,” he’d whispered. “Please don’t die there.”

Ori’s heart had beaten loud then. It had been his chance. It was the last time he’d see his brother, he had known it, felt it. It had been his last chance, his only chance.

He hadn’t taken it.

Nori had left soon after.

When morning came, and Ori set to ride toward the Misty Mountains, he hadn’t looked back. There was nothing left for him in Erebor. He’d had his chance, and he had missed it.

 

And now he was going to die. There were so many orcs on the other side of that door. Ori knew they wouldn’t survive. This was his last stand. He’d have to pretend he was brave, for the others’ sake. They looked up to him, for some reason. One of Thorin’s company. They thought he was brave, when he was nothing but a coward who had never dared to tell his One that he loved him.

 


	7. bad dwarf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was asked for Nori's POV on the previous ficlet.  
> So here you go.
> 
> Nori's a very bad dwarf, and he knows it. He'd sell his mother and brothers to get what he wanted.  
> Well, maybe not both brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ManhattanMom](../../../../users/ManhattanMom/pseuds/ManhattanMom) is to blame for this. I am blameless. I wasn't going to angst more than that.  
>  I swear.

Nori was a bad dwarf. He knew it. _Everyone_ knew it. He took _pride_ in it. Being a bad dwarf had saved his life time and time again. It was his favourite jokes to say he had no standards. He’d sell his mother and brothers to get what he wanted. Mahal, he’d even give them away for free, if it looked like fun.

Everyone knew that.

Well, maybe he would have more trouble hurting little Ori than the others. Ori had been such a sweet little kid, affectionate and kind, always ready to jump to Nori’s defence when he’d fight with Dori or Ari… And he was one of the few people that Nori didn’t mind touching… not that he’d have had any choice. Ori loved hugs and was always looking for an excuse to be in Nori’s arms… and Nori had been perfectly fine with that, really. Everything felt so nice when it was just Ori and him, because he was such a nice child, clever and accepting and loving. Some days there was such open adoration in his eyes, and Nori didn’t know what he had done to deserve that.

Ori was the only one he missed when he finally left home, tired of all the fights and tempted by a life where money was easy to earn as long as was lucky and didn’t get caught.

And he was _good_ at not getting caught.

 

Until the day he wasn’t.

But his luck, at least, didn’t abandon him, and instead of being sent to prison, he was offered a chance to join a suicide mission to Erebor. He’d be made a lord, Thorin told him, and no one would ever dare to doubt his virility… if they survived. But Nori trusted his luck, and he knew he was getting old for a thief… and an old thief very soon turned into a dead thief, so he didn’t have much to lose, really.

It had been a few days later that Thorin had recruited a scribe for his company. A young, pretty little thing, all small and soft, and Nori immediately started wondering how he’d get _that_ into his bed…

Until he realized _that_ was Ori.

Ori who had grown up, Ori who had become beautiful, Ori who was still as sweet as ever, only the feelings that awoke were anything but brotherly…

And when Ori saw him and smiled at him with the same old adoration in his eyes, Nori realized that _this_ didn’t look like brotherly love either.

Nori had always been a bad dwarf, with no limits, no morals, but a small part of him was horrified when he started planning how he could fuck his own brother. But that wouldn’t harm anyone, he told himself. The boy looked so damn innocent, it would give him his first taste of these things… and as long as the lad was consenting, who cared that they were siblings? Nori wasn’t about to get the kid pregnant, and as for himself, he knew better than to risk anything that get him with child… and he just wanted it, wanted to see if Ori would still look as sweet and clueless with fingers inside him and a mouth on his hammer.

That little fantasy was short lived, sadly, because Dori decided to join the quest too. Nori might have been a bad dwarf, but he wasn’t a stupid one. He knew better than to try anything around Dori. Maybe later, when Erebor would be theirs and they’d have privacy again…It could be _fun_.

That was the plan. To stay away from the kid for a while, because Dori looked like he might kill him any time Nori talked to their baby brother, and then to make a real dwarf of him when the time was right. Ori looked like he wanted it, so it was fine, there was nothing wrong in that, he just had to be patient…

 

That had been the plan.

What _hadn’t_ been part of that plan was the way he got attached to the kid. He’d always liked Ori of course. Such a sweet kid, always so affectionate… and he still was, but he’d grown to be more than that. He was a clever lad, who could do wonders with some paper and a piece of charcoal. He had a great sense of fun, daring a joke here and there, making Thorin’s nephew laugh every time. He was kind too, as he had always been, making sure to chat with everyone, even their hobbit, to make sure the little creature felt accepted… from anyone else, Nori would have wondered what he had to gain from it, but he knew Ori just did it because he liked people around him to be happy (Nori noticed, of course, that Ori chatted with anyone but him… but the heat in his brother’s eyes told him why that was, and he tried not to mind).

Another thing that he hadn’t planned was the few moments when they both forgot that they were trying to avoid each other. These usually happened right after they’d escaped death. Nori always seemed to end up with an armful of scribe, his little brother huddling against him like he used to do as a child… And that felt right, really. It felt like they were made for this, and if Nori hadn’t been who he was, if he’d been the sort of dwarf who believed in true love and soulmates, he might have thought…

The first time he wondered if he was in love was in Mirkwood, after they had escaped the spiders, and all he cared was to have Ori in his arms. They were going to die anyway, and he realized in a terrifying moment of honesty that if he couldn’t live with his brother, he wanted to at least die with him.

That hadn’t been part of the plan _at all_.

The elves’ dungeon gave him time to think. It had been one thing to want to fool around with Ori when it had just been about having a little fun, when he’d been sure it wouldn’t last. It would have helped the boy get rid of his crush, too. But if feelings got in the way, it could only end in tragedy. If they became lovers, Ori’s crush might still disappear, but Nori knew himself. He was a selfish bastard, and if he had Ori, even just once, he would never let go of him… or he would grow bored someday and kick the lad out, as he always did, because he was Nori, a bad dwarf with no morals, no rules, no standards, lower than low, and just because he fancied himself in love at the moment didn’t mean he wouldn’t break Ori’s heart one day…

By the time Bilbo made them escape, he’d made his decision. He had to protect the boy, at any cost.

He didn’t talk to Ori while they were in Laketown, forced himself not to think about how easy it would be to drag the kid in a corner to ravish him, how good the boy would look, flushed and naked and slowly sinking into him.

He didn’t talk to Ori as they all watched Thorin’s slow decent into madness, no matter how terrified the kid looked as the dwarf he treated like a hero started acting like a vilain.

He didn’t talk to Ori as his two best friends were buried, children like him, dead for a mad dwarf’s pride.

He didn’t talk to Ori as the boy was put in charge of the renovation of the library, but he instantly liked Dain a good deal better for having made Ori smile, his first smile in _weeks_. And so when Dain offered him a job of his own, one that was almost legal, but not always, Nori agreed. Anything that could keep him busy, keep him away from Ori, was good.

 

Years passed, some slow, some fast, and Nori became _good_ at avoiding Ori. He could spend weeks without getting news about him. People who worked with him sort of knew that his younger brother was a topic they didn’t want to tackle. All he was sure of was that Ori was living somewhere in the mountain, safe and probably happy, surrounded by books.

Ori had to be happy. He no longer had Nori in his life. That was usually a great source of happiness for most people the thief had met in his life.

Ori had to be happy.

And Nori had to believe that, because what was the point of all his efforts otherwise?

Ori had to be happy.

But if he was happy, why was he following Balin to Moria?

“This is all your fault,” Dori told him after announcing that their brother was leaving, throwing his life away for an old dwarf’s dream. “It’s always your fault.”

Nori rather agreed, for once.

“Can’t you stop him? He’ll die there. Everyone dies there, I thought we had learned our lesson!”

He hadn’t thought much of Balin’s decision, until then. An old dwarf’s dream, and if there were idiots ready to follow him, it was their problem. Unless one of these idiots was Ori.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried to stop him?” Dori grunted. “Mother and I did little else! But he won’t stay, not for us. For you, though… If you asked him, he’d stay.”

“I can’t ask him to stay.”

“Then he’s going to die, and it will be your fault. I tried everything I could. Anything that happens now is your fault if you don’t _try_.”

“I can’t. There’s nothing I could say that would…”

“There is,” Dori cut him. “We both know there is. Mahal be my witness, I don’t like it, but I know you can make him stay, and I know how. It makes me sick, but if that’s the only way we can keep him safe, in Erebor, then so be it. You have my blessing. If it can save him, you have my blessing.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Don’t make me say it, Nori. I give you my blessing, and that’s hard enough, so don’t make me _say it_.”

Nori had nodded, and Dori had left.

 

It hadn’t changed anything, at first. Having Dori’s blessing couldn’t really change anything, because he’d never given a shit what his brother might think about it. His only fear had been to hurt Ori… and he’d done that anyway. Because he was a bad dwarf. Because he never did anything right, no matter how hard he tried. Because maybe, in the end, it would be better for Ori to really get away from him after all. Even Moria was probably better than to be in Nori’s company.

But he’d made the mistake of getting drunk as an elf on the night before Ori was due to leave. And suddenly, it had seemed like a good idea to go see his brother, to say goodbye.

Ori was more handsome than ever. He was no longer a boy, he was a dwarf, the most perfect dwarf Nori had ever seen, and all of a sudden the thief had wanted him. Not just for a fuck, not just as a brother, he wanted Ori, wanted him in his life, as his lover, as his One, he wanted Ori to be his and only his, just as he would be Ori’s.

He’d pulled his brother to him, holding him tight, enjoying the contact that still felt as good as ever, even after years, the warmth of Ori, his smell, and for the first time, the taste of his skin against Nori’s lips.

“I love you so much. Please don’t die there,” he’d begged.

He’d pulled back then, waiting for Ori’s reaction… good or bad, he had to know… He’d never prayed before, but he did that night, praying, begging, threatening their Maker, so that Ori would stay, so that Ori would be his, at last…

But Ori didn’t move, just stayed there unmoving, his face blank…

And even that was an answer, Nori decided.

So he left the lad alone. He needed a night of good rest. He’d be travelling in the morning after all.

And if anything happened to Ori, then Dori would have been right.

It would be Nori’s fault, as if always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to write on "I had a dream, once" and instead I wrote this  
> Well, I was going to play on everyone's Ri brothers' feels anyway so... not much of a difference, right?


	8. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Nori extraordinarily jealous and protective as someone flirts with an uncomfortable Ori

That dwarf was going to die, and he was going to die a slow, painful death, Nori decided.

He was huge, nothing but muscle and hair, the sort of dwarf who could get anyone… and he’d decided he wanted Ori. Ori who could and would get rid of such people very easily when he wanted to, but that dwarf was a noble, and the young scribe still had trouble adapting to the idea that he too was important now, and that he could tell nobles to fuck off.

Ori had tried to be polite, to explain gently that he wasn’t interested, but the other dwarf wouldn’t take no for an answer. Even when Ori said he had a lover (a thing he _never_ did usually, because Nori and him _couldn_ 't be discovered, they had too much to lose now…). The noble dwarf just wouldn't give up, smiling and whispering and…

_touching_.

As soon as the dwarf made the mistake a putting an arm around Ori’s shoulder, Nori was there, smiling at him. A _polite_ smile. He’d learned these unnerved people the most.

"Ori! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, _little brother_. Mama wants to see you. Now. We’d better go. Now.”

"What? Oh! Y-yes, of course. Wouldn’t want to anger her! I’m so sorry, my lord, but… I have to go… maybe another time!"

"Certainly another time," the lord promised with a large grin. "I’d love to get to know you better."

Nori smiled at him, and pulled Ori away from him.

He would kill that dwarf. Slowly. With a dull, rusted blade.

_No one_ touched Ori.

No one but _Nori_.


	9. the secret is discovered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: the guys are having a secret affair till they are discovered. All hell breaks loose... on Nori! How dare he corrupt precious pure Ori?! Let's have Ori standing up for himself and to protect Nori?

 

"You disgusting, twisted freak!" Ari snarled, pale as a sheet, while Dori try to keep her away so she wouldn’t strike Nori again. "Hasn’t it been enough already? Haven’t you hurt us all enough? Look at you, look what you’ve _done_!”

Nori didn’t look, didn’t move. He knew better than to move. Move and you gave people a reason to hurt you. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t move, not until his mother had calmed down enough to let him get dress, let him leave. Leave and never come back. He’d never see Ori again after that, but maybe it was for the best. He’d known all along it couldn’t last.

He’d miss it, miss Ori’s skin, so warm… even now, Ori was pressed against him, half hidden behind him… and he’d miss his laugh… the boy laughed all the time, even when they made love… Nori would miss that so much, but it was for the best… Ori deserved better, he deserved… normalcy, as much as he could with a family like theirs…

"Look at me!" Ari cried. "Look at me, Nori, and tell me why? Why would you do that, why? With all the dwarves out there who would have you in an instant, why did you have to rape your own brother?"

Nori tensed. It was like that. He hadn’t… it hadn’t been like that… had it? He’d never wanted to hurt Ori, but…

"Oh, that’s enough!" Ori shouted. "He didn’t _force_ me! I _asked_ for it! You don’t even know _how much_ I had to ask for it, because he was afraid it was wrong!”

Their mother gasped.

"My jewel…"

"I love him, mama! We’re in love! I know… I know it’s weird, and I know we shouldn’t, but it’s like that! And if you yell at him, I’ll yell at you, and it you try to hurt him, I’ll protect him, because he’s my One, and I love him!"

"You don’t mean that," Dori begged, breathless. "You can’t mean that!"

"I mean it completely," Ori retorted. "So you’ve got yourself a choice: you can make Nori leave, and I leave with him. Or you let him stay, and I stay too, and we’re careful around you, and we can all go back to pretending that we’re a normal family. What’s your choice?"

It was all Nori could do not to kiss him then. He loves that side of Ori, when he was determined. He loved it as much as his loved his laugh, or the way he’d get embarrassed at the smallest things, but didn’t mind whispering naughty ideas in his ear in public.

He still didn’t move, though. Moving might remind the other two that they were furious. Moving might remind them that Ori wasn’t quite legally an adult, not yet, and that they could force him to stay, if they wanted.

So he didn’t move, and waited for their decision.


	10. stop working and pay attention to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: Ori is a diligent student, always bent on his books. No Nori I'm studying I've no time for you now. Instead Nori is bent on prove him wrong. Yes Ori, you've time NOW.

"I’m busy," Ori grunted, and Nori stilled. He’d been perfectly silent, how did…

"I can smell those cakes in your hand," Ori explained, not looking away from his book. "And we’re alone. But I’m busy. So go away, or I’ll tell Mama you’re bothering me."

"You’re not busy, you’re just _reading_.”

Ori turned at last, to glare at him, as if Nori had personally insulted him.

"I am studying! I am supposed to know by heart the names of all kings of the line of Durin, and there’s a bloody awful lot of them, so come back again later, thanks."

"But we’ve got the house to ourselves, you’ve said so. Do you know how long it’s been since that’s happened?"

"Not as long as the time my master will yell at me if I don’t memorize those names."

"Well, how about you study, and I keep myself busy?" Nori suggested, putting the cakes he’d brought on the table before kneeling next to Ori’s chair. "You won’t even have to pay any attention to me."

"Nori… please, this is _kind_ of important.”

"I’m sure it it," the older dwarf agreed, slipping between his brother’s legs. "Studying. Very important. I respect that. So go on, study. I’ll be good, I swear."

"You’re never good," Ori laughed, before gasping when one of Nori’s hand went to his groin. "You’re the worst dwarf I know. Oh, fine. You suck me, and I suck you, and _then_ you’d better let me work, or I’ll get angry, I swear!”

"Deal," Nori promised, already planning how he’d distract his brother after their first round.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am addicted to these two and I'm sorry and that's what I get for trying to write brotherly feels in "I had a dream, once"  
> I am so ashamed of myself  
> but not ashamed enough to stop uwu


	11. bad idea

“This is a terrible idea,” Ori decided. “A very, _very_ bad one.”

“Yes, well, we don’t exactly ever _do_ good ideas the two of us, do we?” Nori retorted, trying to find a comfortable position. He didn’t mind being on his knees usually, but he had bruises from their trip in the goblins’ tunnels.

“This bad even by our standards. Everyone is sleeping right there!”

“No they’re not. Beorn went somewhere and Gandalf never sleeps.”

“Oh, thanks, I feel much better now.”

Nori looked up and smirked at his brother. Ori didn’t seem all that annoyed, really… nor worried.

 _Horny_ , though…

“Do you want me to stop, kid?” Nori asked innocently. “If you’re so scared… Wouldn’t want to force you or anything.”

Ori glared at him.

“Don’t you dare. Beside you can’t stop, you haven’t even started yet.”

“True. Better get down to business then. And try to keep quiet. Don’t wanna wake up anyone, do we?”

The younger dwarf glared again.

“Just do it, you prick, or I’ll ask _Kili_.”

Nori chuckled, and opened his brother’s trousers.

No way Kili was ever getting a taste of that.


	12. Things are different in Erebor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ered Luin has harsh laws against incest  
> it never occured to Nori that other places might be different

"Of course, since pretty much everyone in the Shire is cousin at some degree, it’s hard to avoid getting married to someone who’s related to you," Bilbo explained. "So cousins are a fair game. There’s been stories of… closer kin falling in love of course, and living as if they were married, but they can’t get an actual marriage. Well, they usually make a party anyway, but there’s no paper signed, if you see what I mean."

The dwarves nodded, a few of them frowning, but on the whole they were all a good deal less shocked than Nori would have expected them to be.

"Among the dwarves, it’s a crime," he explained, because someone had to say it. "You can’t marry first cousins, it’s bad for the line’s blood, and if you’re found abusing a sibling, you’re castrated and put to death."

"Oh, we’d punish abuse too of course," Bilbo replied. "But if everyone involved is happy…"

"According to our laws, it can never anything but abuse," Nori claimed.

He felt Ori curl up a little against him, his brother’s hand finding his and caressing his finger, as if to reassure him that Ori didn’t feel like he was being taken advantage of. He saw also the prince reacting to this, Kili blushing and Fili paling, before moving slightly away from each other.

Nori noticed it all, and pretended he didn’t.

"Well, that is only the law of the Ered Luin," Thorin protested, making Nori jump in surprise. He’d not even realized the king was listening to them. "It is not possible to treat all clans as one, and traditions vary from one place to the other."

"What do you mean?" Bilbo, Nori and Fili asked as one.

"I’m referring to the laws of Erebor, of course," the king replied, throwing his nephews a confused look. "It was no crime there to love one’s kin, unless you were parent and child, or guardian and ward. Mariage was allowed between cousins, and while it was not typical for siblings, specials authorizations could be granted by the king, should the need arise. I thought you knew that, Fili!" he added, glaring at his nephew. "You are supposed to have studied our laws!"

"There’s a lot of laws," the prince protested. "I hadn’t reached that one yet. But seriously, are you saying that… two brothers could have courted and not risk they lives in Erebor?"

"So it was before the dragon came. So it shall be again, when the beast is dead. I see no wrong in this law, as long as there is obviously true love involved. Emotions cannot be controlled, not always."

Ori’s hand tightened on Nori’s to the point of being painful, but the dwarf dared not look at his brother. If he did, everyone would know, he felt sure of it, and Dori would murder him _anyway_ if he knew what sort of feelings he’d had for their little brother, what sort of things they’d done together…

"Mahal’s furry ball, Nori, your face!" Bofur laughed. "Don’t tell me you didn’t know either?"

"Why would I know that?" Nori grunted. "I wasn’t even born when Erebor fell."

"Yeah, but since you and Ori are a thing, we all assumed that was why you’d decided to join the quest, you know?"

Nori stopped breathing. Ori was crushing his fingers, to the point where his brother wouldn’t be surprised if some bones ended up broken.

Some might certainly break if he punched Bofur’s face hard enough.

"I also thought you knew," Dori claimed, and Nori feared he might faint. "Ori, you at least should have known. There’s a reason I told you to ask your master about Erebor’s laws on marriage and their exceptions! I can’t believe he never mentioned that. The price we paid him, too!"

"Wait, you _know_?” Ori whimpered. “Since when?”

"Since I noticed the way the two of you looked at each other. I’m not blind, you know. And why do you think mother and I always found excuses to not be home too much when Nori was around?"

Nori had assumed it was because he was a disappointment to everyone. He couldn’t decide if this was better or worse.

"You don’t mind then?" Ori asked with tears in his eyes. "You don’t hate us?"

Dori made a pained noise, and rose from where he was sitting to come hug both of his brothers as tight as he dared.

"You silly boys!" he sobbed. "Of course I do not hate you, and neither does mother. Why do you think we both encouraged you to join this quest? We knew you would no longer have to hide and fear in Erebor. We want you to be happy."

Both Dori and Ori where crying and sobbing, and Nori had to fight hard not to do the same. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. No more hiding. No more fear. No more wondering who would kill him, Dori or an executioner.

They were _free_.

"Wait, was this supposed to be some sort of a secret then?" Bombur asked shyly. "I thought… I thought we all knew that you two were in love."

"Aye, we all knew it," Gloin confirmed. "They’re barely more subtle than the princes, and that’s saying something."

At that, both princes turned an interesting shade of red, and immediately started denying everything they could think of. Their uncle rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed, but it was equally clear that this annoyance was at their ignorance, not at their attraction.

"Your mother allowed you to come with me because she knew Erebor would be the only safe place for you," Thorin informed them, and in an instant the boys fell silent. "Dori is not the only one here who wants to see his kin happy."

There was a moment of silence then, Fili and Kili not daring to look at each other… but still, the youngest prince came to sit closer to his brother, taking Fili’s hand in his. Any conversation between them would need to wait until there weren’t thirteen pairs of eyes on them.

"Well, I for one am very glad Bofur asked about my parent’s marriage," Bilbo said after a moment. "Clearly, there’s a few things that needed to be said, and I’m happy I had some part in it."

Nori sniggered at that, but he still smiled.

He’d have to find a way to thank the hobbit for this small participation to their lives.


End file.
